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Spraying: clogging and lighting.

592 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Mike2coat
I have two somewhat separate questions about spraying interior trim.
I don't normally do new construction, but a while back I did a house where I sprayed all the trim for the first time. I've got another one coming up and wanted to make it a more convenient experience.

I was using (and will likely use again) A cheap Graco airless (borrowed from the homebuilder). Spraying ProClassic through a 310fflp. It kept clogging. Not enough to cause a serious problem, but enough to be an annoying PITA. Do I need finer mesh filters and/or strainers than is normally recommended for waterbased paints? Or does it have something to do with the sprayer itself being a cheap big box store model?

The second inconvenience was the poor ability to see the difference between the wet second coat and the dry first coat. Do I need a much stronger lighting system (was using a couple old 500 watt halogen worklights), shine them at a different angle (tried that, didn't seem to work), or just get used to a "blind" technique of remembering exactly where I've made passes?
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Yes strain that paint. You can strain it beforehand or just wrap a strainer around the stinger, or do both. 310 is a good size tip for what you're doing, personally I'd even bump it down to a 308, but yes you want to swap out the standard filters for fine or extra fine. Also bumping up the pressure a little bit can help with clogs too, but of course you'll need to compensate by moving a bit quicker.

Get yourself a little battery powered LED light (Nemo makes some good ones) that you can hold in your non spray hand. Then before you make a pass you can use it to see where you are dry. And you can also use it to look again afterwards to see if you got everything. It helps to not have too much overhead lighting going on.
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